February 05, 2007	Monday	Muharram 16, 1428

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MUZAFFARABAD, Feb 4: Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz will address a special joint session of the AJK Legislative Assembly and AJK Council besides visiting an earthquake survivors' camp here on Monday as part of Kashmir Solidarity Day celebrations across the country.

Now a national event of Pakistan, the day was first observed on Feb 5, 1990, on the call of Jamaat-i-Islami chief Qazi Hussain Ahmed, and it was later endorsed by then federal government.

Since then, Feb 5 is enthusiastically observed not only in Pakistan and the AJK but also in many other countries of the world to express solidarity with the Kashmiris who are struggling to free themselves from the Indian yoke.

Informed sources told Dawn that Mr Aziz would be given the guard of honour on the premises of assembly building soon after his arrival in the AJK capital.

He will later address the joint sitting and then visit the nearby Thuri camp of quake survivors.

Strict security measures had been put in place in the town, particularly in areas housing the assembly building, adjacent helipad and the nearby survivors' camp.

A heavy contingent of riot police patrolled different localities of the quake-hit town on Sunday but officials said on condition of anonymity that the security was not as strict as it used to be during visits of President Pervez Musharraf.

Last year, President Musharraf had addressed a public meeting in an army stadium in Shuakat Lines but prior to that his address a message was read out by then speaker at the joint session.

On Sunday, the areas around the assembly building were wearing a festive look. Dozens of banners had sprung up in the area, majority of which was inscribed with slogans praising President Musharraf's four-point proposal to resolve the Kashmir issue.

"Kashmiris' call: Self rule and troop withdrawal," read one banner in Urdu.

"Kashmiris' struggle is the symbol of human quest for freedom," read another one in English.

Informed sources said that a human chain would also be formed at the Kohala Bridge early morning to demonstrate the "eternal bonds of affection and love between the Kashmiris and Pakistanis."

Sirens would be sounded at 10am to observe a one-minute silence countrywide to pay homage to Kashmir martyrs. Pakistani missions abroad will observe the silence. A spokesman for the Jammu Kashmir People’s Muslim League President Sultan Mahmood Chaudhry said Mr Sultan would address a gathering in Waltham Stove (London) to express solidarity with Kashmiris in occupied Kashmir.